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I A BRIEF 

♦ HISTORICAL SKETCH 

OF THE 

VALLEY OF CHAMOUNI, 

COMMENCING WITH THE 

FOUNDATION OF THE PRIORY IN 1090 5 

DRAwft TJP FROM 

ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS, 

AND NOW FIRST PUT INTO CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER 

By MARKHAM SHE R WILL, 

Author of " Letters giving an Account of an Ascension to the Summit 
, of Mont-Blanc in i 825. " • 




PARIS : 

PRINTED BY PIHAN DELAFOREST (MORINVAL), 

RUE DES P.OWS-EXFAKS, K". 3^, 

1832. 



I 

n 



I 



A BRIEF 
HISTORICAL SKETCH 

OF THE 

VALLEY OF CHAMOUNI. 



A 



A BRIEF 
HISTORICAL SKETCH 



OF THE 



VALLEY OF CHAMOUNI, 

COMMENCING WITH THE 

FOUNDATION OF THE PRIORY IN 1090 5 

DRAWN UP FROM 

ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS, 

AND NOW FIRST PUT INTO CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER 

By MARKHAM SHERWILL, 

Author of " Letters giving an Account of an Ascension to the Summit 
of Mont-Blanc in 1825." 




PARIS : 

PRINTED BY PTHAN DELAFOREST (MORINVAL), 

RUE DES BONS-ENFANS, W°. 
1832, 



TO 



WILLIAM UPCOTT, Esq. 

ARE MOST RESPECTFULLY AND MOST HUMBLY 
DEDICATED, 

BY 

HIS VERY OBEDIENT; 
AMD 

MUCH OBLIGED SERVANT, 



The Author. 



PREFACE. 



It is much to be regretted, that up to the present 
day, almost all the itinerary writers of Switzerland 
and of Savoy have led each other into the same 
error respecting the discovery of the valley of Cha- 
mouni ; nor have they endeavoured, by research 
or otherwise, to remove that false information, 
which it is my intention in the following pages to 
correct. To attempt a description of the pastoral 
beauties of this celebrated spot, is far beyond the 
power of my pen • for to delineate the sublime ai- 
guilles, or to paint the terrific horrors seen under 
the shape of glaciers and precipices, almost any 
writer must be defective. Who can imitate those 
works which, at one view, denote the Hand from 
whence they sprung and had their origin ? 

The sole object I have in view is, to correct the 
error stated by the Itineraries respecting the dis- 
covery of the valley, and of the communication of 



8 

its earliest inhabitants with their neighbours. This 
I propose to do, by giving extracts from the various 
Guide Books on the subject, and by offering copies 
of those original deeds, acts, and proclamations 
which have fallen into my hands this last summer 
at Chamouni. In these will be found many in- 
teresting particulars, not generally known, of this 
much frequented and lovely spot, particularly pre- 
vious to the year 174*5 when Mr. Pocock the tra- 
veller, and his amiable friend Mr. Wyndham, 
paid their first visit to Chamouni. 

It is somewhat extraordinary that former writers 
do not make any mention whatever of the early 
history of this valley, nor do they hint even at the 
etymology of the word u Chamouni. 77 Every in- 
formation is confined to the period of 1741 and 
subsequent years : in one solitary instance, we are 
told that a convent of Benedictine monks was 
founded there, by a Count of Geneva, in 1099; anc ^ 
other matter is so vaguely stated, that I am very 
happy circumstances have afforded me the gratifi- 
cation of offering to you this brief sketch of the 
early history of the valley. 

Although I shall be able to prove, most satisfac- 
torily, that Chamouni w r as known and visited pre- 
vious to i^^iy yet I must here repeat — and I do it 
with pride and glory to our own country — that the 



9 

valley would have remained comparatively un- 
known to the curious traveller, had not the indefa- 
tigable zeal and manly perseverance of Pocock and 
Wyndliam urged them on to examine the hidden 
beauties of this then neglected corner of the world, 
and by their communications first brought them as 
it were to light, to be witnessed and to be admired 
by thousands of travellers since. 

To enter into conjectures why Chamouni had 
not been more frequented by summer travellers 
previous to 1741, would be to enter a wide field. 
We might hint at the then want of public convey- 
ances, and the subsequent wonderful improvement 
that has taken place, all over Europe, in the construc- 
tion of roads ; and we might also give a glance at 
that attachment to place and home, which formerly 
existed, but which, of later years, seems to be ex- 
tinct or unfashionable : all deep impressions are 
obliterated by a perpetual change of abode, and 
seem to be supplied by a sort of indiscriminate and 
inactive good-will towards all mankind. 

A love of travelling and a thirst after novelty 
existed among all nations, and particularly with the 
English, centuries before the discovery of the valley 
of Chamouni ; for we had travellers long previous 
to this period, ranging in the north, and in the 
east, and beyond the seas. It would not appear 



extraordinary that this secluded valley should have 
remained so long unknown to the English tourist, 
if it were not that the village of Chamouni lies im- 
mediately at the foot of the highest mountain then 
known, and which must have been seen by travel- 
lers passing to various parts of the southern conti- 
nent ; and we should have thought it a probable 
reason to have induced other pedestrians to wander 
towards Mont-Blanc, with the laudable desire to 
explore its adjacent vallies, and examine the con- 
struction of its base, although the enterprising idea 
of attacking his dangerous slopes and ungrateful 
summit might not then engage their thoughts : — 
but the glory and the triumph were reserved for 
Pocock and Wyndham to be the first English tra- 
vellers to enter the valley, although their visit to 
the Priory happened six hundred and fifty years 
after its foundation and communication with the 
neighbouring people and states. 



A BRIEF 
HISTORICAL SKETCH 

OF THE 

VALLEY OF CHAMOUNI. 

— *—m®mr-* 

THE ARCHIVES OF CHAMOUNI. 

Having passed the greater part of last summer at 
Chamouni and in its neighbourhood, chiefly with 
the intention of gathering all the information I 
could, from the oldest inhabitants, relative to their 
customs, their manners, and such traditional tales 
as I thought might bear, at least, some resemblance 
to truth, setting aside ec olden stories," that were 
clad in the flimsy and thin guise of fiction or impro- 
bability^ the circumstance was mentioned to me, 
during my stay there, that a great part of the Ar- 
chives relating to the Priory were still preserved 
in an old trunk ; but that in all probability they 
had become illegible, partly from negligence and 
partly from age and dust. I obtained permission to 
examine the papers, and, assisted by the able talent 
ofM. Ambroise Paccard, I have been enabled to 
cull such particulars from them as I thought would 
be interesting to those travellers who have already 



visited the valley, and not unwelcome to others,, 
whose intention may be to explore the country— 

" * * where the raptur'd eye 
" Hurries from joy to joy." 

The father of M. Paccard, of whom I have just 
made mention, immortalised his name among ad- 
venturous travellers, as being the first who attained 
the summit of Mont-Blanc, in 1786, accompanied 
by the still living and active guide, Jacques Bal- 
mat. The son, to whom I am much indebted for 
his kind assistance, possesses a very general know- 
ledge of botany, mineralogy, and other branches of 
natural history : his mind being well stored with 
the early events of his native valley, his conversa- 
tion becomes naturally agreeable, and must at all 
times be instructive. 

At first sight of the venerable papers above alluded 
to, I was quite ready to excuse the rapturous joy of 
an antiquary, on the discovery of some new trea- 
sure. Spiders, and their webs, seemed for a while 
to deny the intrusion of a stranger's eye, while the 
dust that covered the bundles of parchment ap- 
peared as old as the Priory itself. They were in 
less confusion than was to be expected : most of 
them were drawn up in Latin, though some of a 
later date were written in the French language. 



EXTRACTS 



TAKEN FROM THE VARIOUS ITINERARIES 
FOR THE 

VALLEY OF €HAMOUNI. 

I shall now proceed to give extracts from the 
various Guide Books For this country, at least from 
those most in use, pointing out the incorrectness 
of their information ; and then proceed to add 
copies of several of the original documents, which 
will prove the general intercourse that existed be- 
tween Chamouni and distant towns, from the year 
i 090, the period when the Priory was founded, and 
the year 1741? when our countrymen first arrived 
in the village. 

Mrs. Mariana Starke says, in speaking of Cha- 
mouni : — u This town owes its existence to a 
"■convent of Benedictines, founded by a Count of 
" Geneva, in 1099 : but the valley in which it 
" stands might probably have been unknown at 
" the present period (1829), if two English gen- 
f* tlemen, Mr. Wyndham and Mr. Pocock, had 
u not, in the year 1741? discovered it, and given 
" to modern Europe details respecting a place 
ec which even the natives of Geneva, though only 
" eighteen leagues distant, had never heard of." 

Without offering any comments on this vague 
paragraph for the present, let us proceed to the one 
in the " Guide du V ojrageur en Suisse, par Rei- 



i4 

chard." I give it in its original text and language : 
this good old man says : — " Ce qui doit etonner et 
u qui est presque incroyable, c'est qu'une vallee si 
" interessante, d'oules regards se portent aisement 
" sur la montagne la plus haute de l'ancien monde, 
<c soit demeuree inconnue, jusqu'en 1741? a tous 
€i les voyageurs. Ce fut dans cette annee que Po- 
c i cock, celebre voyageur, et l'Anglais Wyndham, 
" penserent a la visiter, et donnerent a l'Europe 
" les premieres notions de cette contree, qui n'est 
<c qu'a 18 lieues de Geneve." — Edition 1824, p. 3i. 

The c 'Nouveau Manuel du Voyageur en Suisse, 
par Glutz-Blotzheim/' a work much esteemed on 
account of the historical and statistical account 
which it gives of Switzerland, contains the follow- 
ing paragraph on the same subject : — " Les obser- 
iC vations faites pendant trente ans par les natu- 
<c ralistes genevois, ont donne une grande celebrite 
<c a cette vallee, dans laquelle on voit la montagne 
* c la plus elevee de l'ancien monde, et qui, chose 
u incroyable, est restee inconnue jusqu'en 17^1^ 
" epoque ou elle fut decouverte par le celebre 
xc voyageur Pocock." 

Dr. Ebel, in speaking of the valley of Chamouni, 
thus expressed himself: — "Decouverte de cette 
( i* vallee : — Quelque incroyable que la chose puisse 
<c paraitre, cette vallee, si singulierement interes- 
" sante, dans laquelle on voit la montagne la plus 
Ci elevee de l'ancien monde, est demeuree entiere- 
c( ment inconnue jusqu'en 1741 % ce fut alors que 
£( \e celebre voyageur Pocock, et un autre Anglais 



i< nomme Wyndham, la visiterent, et donnerent a 
cc l'Europe et au monde entier les premieres notions 
<c d'une contree qui n'est qu'a 18 lieues de Geneve. 
" M. Baulacre^bibliothecaire de Geneve, fut le pre- 
" mier qui fit connaitre la vallee de Chamouni, par 
" une relation abregee de ce voyage qu'il publia 
" dans le Mercure de Suisse, pour les mois de mai 
cc et juin 1743. Cependant, meme encore apres 
" cette epoque, il n'y a eu de long-temps qu'un 
u tres petit nombre de personnes qui aient entre- 
<c pris ce voyage, puisqu'en 1760, il n'y avait pas 
" d'aubergelogeable auPrieure. Cette annee meme, 
u qui fut celle oii M. de Saussure visita pour la pre- 
" miere fois Chamouni, ce voyage passait a Ge- 
<c neve pour etre dangereux. La description pit— 
u toresque des glaciers de cette vallee, que M. 
" Bourrit mit au jour en 1773^ et quelques annees 
" plus tard, Pexcellent ouvrage de M. de Saussure 
cc sur les Alpes, exciterent l'attention du public a 
<c tel point que, pendant les annees 1780-1792, 
" on y a vu venir annuellement de 800 a 1200 
u etrangers, quoiqu'il n'y ait guere que trois ou 
" *juatre mois par an pendant lesquels ce voyage 
** soit praticable." 

The extracts I have given are sufficient, I pre- 
sume, to prove that the itinerary writers of the 
present day are, one and all, of the same opinion, 
that the valley of Chamouni owes its discovery to 
the enterprise of Pocock and Wyndham. Mrs. 
Starke concludes her information to her numerous 
readers on the subject, by saying : — u It had never 



i6 

been heard of before that period;' 3 this was, how- 
ever, evidently written without reflection, or too 
much reliance was placed on the work of Dr. Ebel, 
who was, I believe, the first who wrote on the sub- 
ject as Guide. It is very surprising that so learned 
a man as he certainly was, in all that regards Swit- 
zerland and its immediate neighbourhood, should 
have put forth an opinion so diametrically opposite 
to probability and good sense, when he says: — 
cc That the valley remained wholly unknown until 
c f the year ijA 1 /' 

M. Reichard has however qualified his general 
observation, by saying that Chamouni was not 
known to travellers before the year I'j^i : this is 
much more reasonable, and the assertion, in the 
end, we must allow carries with it great probabi- 
lity ; it is however evident, that neither Dr. Ebel 
nor M. Reichard were aware of the occasional visits 
of the Bishops of Geneva, the details of which I 
shall give later in this sketch ; nor did they know 
that fairs were held at Chamouni, by special per- 
mission, granted by Philippe de Savoie, in i53o, 
to which strangers came from various parts, and 
while thus going and coming, were under the 
rigid protection of the laws, as we shall see in the 
following pages. 



COPIES AND EXTRACTS 

FROM THE ORIGINAL DEEDS AND ACTS 
RELATIVE TO THE 

PRIORY OF CHAJUOUM. 

I shall make no apology for giving here, in full, 
the Latin deed relative to the foundation of the 
Priory ; it marks distinctly the date from which 
this brief historical sketch commences, and is, in 
fact, the first authentic title by which the lands 
generally became the rightful property of the Bene- 
dictines. Before this period, the valley of Cha- 
mouni, like that of Sixt, and many others encircled 
by the lofty mountains, was nothing more than 
one entire forest, not inhabited by man, but was 
the abode of wild animals of various descriptions, 
of which some remain even to this day. 



ORIGINAL ACT 

FOR THE FOUNDATION OF THE PRIORY. 

" In nomine Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis. 

cc Ego Aymo, Comes Gebennensis, et filius meus 
cc Giroldus, damus et concedimus Domino Deo Sal- 
ic vatori nostro, et Sancto Michaeli Archangelo de 
Cf Clusa, omnera campum munitum, cumappendi- 
6 c tiis suis, ex aqua quae vocatur Dionsa, et rupe 
\t quae vocatur alba, usque ad Balmas, sicut ex in- 



1 8 

c: tegro ad comitatum raeum pertinere videtur ; id 
" est, terras, sylvas, alpes, venationes, omnia pla- 
u cita et Banna ; etMonacbi Deo et Archangeloser- 
u vientes, hoc totum habeant, et teneant, sinecon- 
cx tradictione alicujus hominis, et nihil nobis nisi 
<c eleemosinas et oration es pro animabus nostris et 
" parentum nostrorum retinentes." 

" Ego Andreas, Comitis Capellanus,lanc cartam 
u prsecepto ipsius Cornitis scripsi ettradidi, feria 7* 
" luna 27. Papa Urbano regnante. 99 

At the foot of this deed is the seal of the Count 
Aymon, in white wax; and although the act is 
without date, we know that, by the mention of 
Pope Urban, it must have been executed during 
the reign of Urban the Second, who was Pope from 
the year 1088 to 1099. We may therefore con- 
clude, that the donation of lands, and the founda- 
tion of the Priory^, took place somewhere about the 
year 1090, but certainly not so late as 1099, as 
stated by one of the Itinerary writers which I have 
already quoted. 

The limits of the lands thus given for the main- 
tenance and support of the Priory, are described in 
very few words ; and it would appear that very high 
respect has been paid during many centuries to the 
deed of gift of Aymon, for since his time up to the 
period of the dissolution of the monastic establish- 
ment, there has never been any attempt, on the 
part of any one, to abridge or alter the original 
boundary and demarcation. 

It may not be amiss to state here, that travellers 



who quit Sallenche or St. Martin, to proceed to 
Chamouni, pass over a covered wooden bridge, im- 
mediately on leaving the pretty village of Servoz, 
which wooden bridge is built over the river Dioza, 
as it is now called, but written cc Dionsa " in the 
original Latin. I mention this, because there are 
many mountain torrents to pass during the ascent 
toChamouni, and the precise limits of the valley 
are not generally known by those who visit it. The 
Dioza takes its source near the foot of the Buet, and 
gives its name to that remote valley which is seen 
from the summit of the Breven, and in which there 
are only a lew summer chalets. 

The mountain called the Balm, better known 
now as the Col de Balme, shuts in the valley of 
Chamouni on the north-east; thus the jurisdiction 
of the valley extends, in one line, about seven 
leagues and a half, but its breadth is considerably 
less, being not more than three leagues, including 
the mountain sides and slopes. 

It is from this early document, also, that we ar- 
rive at the etymology of the word (C Chamouni." 
Names of remote and ancient places have often and 
for ages puzzled antiquaries and etymologists,- but, 
by a little twisting and re-modelling a word, deri- 
vations have been arrived at. The two words, 
<c campus munitus/' used in the Latin deed of gift, 
may, I think, without much twisting, be consi- 
dered as the origin of the word Chamouni. If we 
give them their literal translation of fortified Jield, 
we may regard the lofty mountains and the inac- 

2.. 



'1 o 



cessible aiguilles that surround the valley on all 
sides, as the natural defence or fortifications here 
implied ; but, to arrive at the literal word Cha- 
mouni, we must translate them into French, or 
into the patois of the country, and the signification 
is equally good in both ; for instance : " campus " 
" champ/' and cc munitus," tc muni;" and thus, by 
uniting the two words, we cannot fail to allow the 
derivation to be good, for probably in those early 
days, this view was taken of the country, and the 
Latin signification of cc campus munitus/' was 
consequently given to this almost impregnable 
country. I did not find the mention of these two 
words in any subsequent document : the term 
c< Prfeure" was generally used until the year i33o, 
when the few cottages that surrounded the mo- 
nastic building assumed the name of Chamouni, 
which the village has continued ever since. Bowles, 
in his u Days Departed/' says: — 

" A village then 

" Was not as villages are now, — " 

And, perhaps, objections may be entertained re- 
specting the derivation I have offered • but I do 
not see any so good reason for the word Chamouni, 
as the term given to it by the Count Aymon of 
Geneva. 

The second document, of ancient dale, bears the 
year 1290., and contains a new code of laws and 
regulations relative to the interior of the Priory : 
these laws were sent to the Abbot of St. Maurice, 



21 



who, by a nolo affixed, seems to have approved and 
Sighed them. This paper, in itself, is of no interest 
to the general reader ; I have mentioned it, to show 
how very early in the thirteenth century the Bene- 
dictines of Chamouni held communion with their 
religious brethren in a northerly direction, distant 
about twelve leagues. The two roads which lead 
from thence to St. Maurice — the one bytheTete- 
Noire and the other by the Col de Baime — offer 
but little difference of distance. 



LES FRANCHISES 

DE LA VALLEE DE CHAMOUNI. 

Under this head we come to a very important 
document, bearing date January 20, i33o. It 
must be understood that, soon after the first esta- 
blishment of the Benedictines in the valley, many 
strangers came and settled near about the Priory, 
some for the purpose of daily labour, while others, 
under certain conditions, obtained a portion of a 
forest, to root up, clear, and bring the land into a 
state something like cultivation, thus permitting 
the cottager to hope for and calculate on an increase 
of prosperity. But these strangers, it appears, 
could not, under any pretence whatever, establish 
themselves in the valley without the permission of 
the Prior ; and for this simple reason — that the 
lands all belonged tp the Priory : those, however, 
to whom permission was granted became, as it 



22 

were, the properly of the Prior, and were obliged 
strictly to obey his laws, and consider him as their 
sovereign. Thus the Prior, from a continual in- 
crease of settlers, found it necessary, from time to 
time, to issue new laws, which were never con- 
tested by the small social pact that seemed quiet 
and happy in the solitude of this secluded spot. 

One of the leading articles of this new code will 
at once show the power of the new chief : We give 
it in its own language : — ci Que si quelque per- 
cc sonne, de quelle qtialitequ'elle soit,vient a habiter 
<e on demeurer dans ladite vallee, n'elant pas lige 
iC dudit Prieur et Prieure, et vouloir faire commu- 
" naute avec lesdits homines^ e.le doit subvenir et 
" fournir aux esgances, charges, et subsides des- 
cc dits communiers et communaute, selon faculte : 
" et si ladite personne refusoit de payer auxdits 
" communiers, qu'elle seroit contrainte de sortir 
cc du lieu, avec ses biens, dans an mois, et quitter 
6C ladite vallee. Fait du 20 janvier i33o." 

The arrival of strangers at Chamonni at this 
early period must have been of no uncommon 
occurrence, or the Prior would not have thought it 
necessary thus to issue strict laws which applied 
solely to the new comers. It was not within my 
power to ascertain if any persons refused, at this 
period, to pay the taxes required, or if any objected 
to furnish their quota to the subsidies necessary for 
the support of the monastic institution, for we may 
suppose these contributions were levied for that 
purpose. 



23 

Little occurred, during the remain der of the four- 
teenth century, of any public interest in this new 
rising little world, except a formal promise, sealed, 
and signed by the Abbot of Sallenche, distant from 
Chamouni about six leagues in a westerly direction, 
to observe all the privileges granted to, and all the 
laws promulgated by, the Prior. 

We come now to the first visit made by the Bishop 
of Geneva to this extreme corner of his diocese ; which 
took place in 1 44^- I sna M incorporate them, indi- 
vidually and chronologically, into the following 
pages, as they will serve to prove, in addition to 
other matter, thatChamouni was known even at this 
period, and visited by these learned and remarkable 
men, coming from Geneva, distant 18 leagues, 
w hich in those days was a journey of considerable 
difficulty, and shows, moreover, that great interest, 
existed in the breast of these evangelical chiefs for 
the well-doing of every part of their community. 

The first Bishop of whom I found any mention 
made, was Bartholomeus, who, having visited the 
Abbot of Sallenche, continued his perilous journey 
to Chamouni, where he arrived as late as the 4th of 
Oclober in the year 1 44^ . He was accompanied 
by the Abbot, his two officiating clerical attendants, 
and some menial persons. The visiting party per- 
formed the journey on foot. They remained se- 
veral days at the Priory to repose ; and, after having 
visited this most secluded part of his diocese, the 
Bishop returned to Geneva by the way of Annecy, 
but by which road is not particularly mentioned, 



24 

These are the whole of the details of the first epis- 
copal visit, which I regret were not more circum- 
stantially given : but, as it is my intention to con- 
fine myself rigidly to the information which chance 
threw in my way, I shall, in no case, add romance 
to the soul and value of truth. 

On July 2, i4Bi, we find that Jean Louis de 
Savoie, Bishop of Geneva, arrived at the Priory ; 
but no particulars whatever are given of his visit. 

A paper, bearing date ID20, is a formal ratifica- 
tion, signed by Rodolphe, Abbot of the monastery 
of Cluse, of an entire new code of laws, both for the 
Priory and for the new settlers in the valley. Un- 
fortunately, this code of laws I could not find, 
which may be explained for by the following note, 
in the handwriting of the Prior, but of a subse- 
quent date. He says : — "Qua-rid la guerre est venue 
" en Savoie; on fit porter plusieurs charges de mulet 
" de papiers au Chateau de Bar, en la vallee d'Aoste, 
" pour les mettre en assurance. " This will ac- 
count for the absence of many important papers, 
and leaves a hiatus which I should have been most 
happy to fill up : but the existence of this note is, 
on the other hand, a very essential document for 
the object I have in view ; for although it bears 
the date of 1 558, and is consequently of a period 
posterior to other papers I shall offer, yet I judged 
it expedient to refer to it here, as a probable reason 
ior the absence of various interesting matter, and 
as another convincing proof that the Priors were 
not ignorant of neighbouring states, and that, con- 



sequently, communication with them was by no 
means un frequent. 

There are two roads from Chamouni to the Fort 
de Bar, as it is now termed, both of which were 
practicable at the period of 1 558 j the one, by 
Martigny, the Grand St. Bernard, Cite d'Aoste^ 
and Chatillon, is a distance of about 4o leagues,* 
the other passes over the Col du Bonhomme, the 
Col de la Seigne,, Courmayeur, and the Cite d'Aoste, 
where it joins the former road^ and may be com- 
puted at about the same distance,, and is now per- 
formed in five days by mules that travel that way. 

As the Benedictines of Chamouni had intercourse 
with the people of Martigny and of St. Maurice, 
as we have already proved, it is more than probable 
that the drivers of the mules laden with these lost 
papers took the route of the Grand St. Bernard, 
where they would find and receive that hospitality 
which has never failed to this day, in the unosten- 
tatious and charitable convent of those good men, 
rather than encounter the dangerous road of the 
Col du Bonhomme, which, from the earliest times, 
has always been considered the most perilous of any 
of the Alpine passes, owing to the sudden changes 
of the weather, and the total absence of any hut 
where the traveller might take refuge from the 
pelting storm. 

The Fort de Bar having, since the year i558, 
been pillaged and ransacked several times, it is to 
be feared that the papers in question are all de- 
stroyed : having, at least, this conviction on my 



26 



mind, I made no inquiries after them, when I was 
in that part of Piedmont on my return from the 
vallies of Monte Rosa, nor did I take any steps to 
procure a sight of them, even supposing they were 
still in existence. 

It does not appear that, up to the fifteenth cen- 
tury, any estimation had been made respecting the 
number of settlers in the valley of Chamouni, at 
least I could find no account of any such pro- 
ceeding. We may however conclude that they 
were fast increasing, and that occasional strangers 
came to the new colony; for from time to time 
additional laws were framed, as the necessity of 
the case dictated. 

The following act, bearing date Nov. i53o, 
signed by Philippe de Savoie , who was Due 
de Nemours and Gomte de Geneve, proves that 
the population around the Priory had consi- 
derably augmented; for this Prince grants special 
leave to the inhabitants to hold a free fair twice 
in the year, on the i5th of June and on the last day 
of September, which are observed to this period. 
The act concludes thus : u Tous les marchands 
" allants et venants avec leurs marchandises, sans 
Cl estre aucunement empesches ny arrestes pour 
" debtes ny pour autres choses quelconques en 
ei quelle maniere que ce soit. 

" Fait du 3 e . Novembre i53o. 

" Signe Philippe. " 

In three years afterwards the same Prince granted 



permission to bold a public market at Cbamouni 
every Thursday, wbich is also still in usage. 

Thus we find tbat early in ibe sixteenth cen- 
tury peculiar advantages were given to those per- 
sons who frequented the valley, and encourage- 
ment given to all comers and goers; for we learn, 
by the above act of Philippe, they were even 
exempt from arrest or molestation either for debt 
or any other misdemeanour. 

Wherever I have given extracts from the ori- 
ginal papers in French, I have strictly adhered to 
the mode of spelling in use at that time ; and 
though the orthography differs much from the 
more refined style of the present day, the sense is 
always clear, and requires no explanation. 

Under the date of 1567 we find an ordonnance 
issued by the Supreme Court of Savoy, author- 
ising the Abbot of Sallenche and the Prior of 
Chamouni to build a bridge, at their joint ex- 
pense, over the Arve, near Servoz, cc wide enough 
" for comers and goers on foot and on horseback, 
C( and for beasts laden with merchandise." There 
is no reason to suppose that this bridge was built 
on any other spot than where the present one 
stands, known by the name of the " Pont Pelis- 
u sier" this being decidedly the most convenient 
place, the two sides of the river being of solid rock, 
while the passage for the waters is remarkably 
narrow. 

The Chateau of St. Michel, the ruins of which 
we see situated on a monticule near the bridge, 



28 

was inhabited at the date of the above ordonnance ; 
but the town of St. Denis had long been destroyed 
and swept away by the breaking up and discharge 
from a lake which had accumulated from ages un- 
known, and which was in those days to be seen 
where the low meadows now are, between the foot 
of the rock on which the ruins of St. Michel stand, 
the village of Servoz, and the entrance to the 
romantic and unfrequented valley of Chalelas, 
through which the waters burst forth, probably 
by the fall of some of the rocks that served as a 
dam to restrain and form the lake. There is a 
small ham lei distant from the road about a quarter 
of a mile, which bears the name of Ci Lac/' and is 
built where the lake was formerly in its greatest 
expanse. Should the pedestrian pass through the 
valley of Chatelas_, instead of pursuing the usual 
road by Servoz, he will see distinctly the remains 
of the aqueducts used for conveying water from the 
lake to the town of St. Denis. The foot-road that 
leads to this rugged passage passes close to the 
ruins of St. Michel, traverses a part of the low 
land w here the lake was, and, after scrambling over 
some rocks^ the pedestrian will arrive, if he follow 
the path to the right hand, at the Pont des Chevres,* 
but if he take the one to the left, he may visit the 
ruins of the aqueducts, and thus regain the high 
road that skirts the plain of Passy. 

I have mentioned these facts to prove that the 
necessity of building a substantial bridge was not 
so much for the convenience of Servoz, the nearest 



village to the valley of Chamouni, but more pro- 
bably was to facilitate the communication between 
Sallenche and other more distant towns, and at 
the same time to render the intercourse with the 
Priory more frequent and of less difficulty. 

It is too weli known to require repetition here, 
but the ordonnance to build a bridge at this early 
period goes in aid to prove the fact, that the very 
soul of prosperity for a new country is the con- 
struction of roads, bridges, and canals, where it, 
can be done : they are important in the highest 
degree, not only as affecting the condition of the 
peasantry, but tend to the reciprocal advantage of 
neighbouring states, by an almost daily communi- 
cation and administration to each others wants 
and necessities. 

In i58o, we find that Claude Granier, Bishop 
of Geneva, visited the Priory of Chamouni, but no 
particulars are given. 

In i 5q4? the Council of Geneva authorised the 
said Prior to maintain the laws and the liberties 
of the valley, as drawn up and set forth by him. 

July 30; 1606, the learned and remarkable di- 
vine, St. Francois de Sales, arrived at Chamouni 
in the dignity of Bishop of Geneva. His charac- 
ter, his virtues, and his general history, are too 
w r ell known to you that I should give even a brief 
outline of them, nor w r ould such a digression be 
appropriate to the intention of this historical 
sketch. 

It appears that about two months before his 



i 



i 



3o 



visit, which was included in a general visitation 
of this diocese,, he wrote to the then Prior to know 
the extent of the parish, the number of inhabit- 
ants, their moral character, the occupations, and 
the commerce, if any, of the natives j also the 
number of poor and of those who were compara- 
tively rich; the proportion of catholics and here- 
tics, the state of the church (the present one at 
Chamouni being already built, for we see over the 
great entrance the date of 1602), and desiring a 
general report of all that related to the Priory, the 
valley, and the church. Soon after receiving a full 
account and answer to all these questions, he laid 
his plan for his journey. 

It would have been very desirable to have a 
copy of the report made by the Prior, but it was 
not among the archives^ and most of those of this 
date were materially injured by damp and vermin. 

There are, however, some few details preserved 
of the visit of St. Francois de Sales, drawn up in 
the form of a diary. It is therein stated that he 
was accompanied by only two persons, he being, as 
his general history shows, a man of extreme mo- 
dest demeanour, and possessed no love of ostenta- 
tion or show. He arrived at Chamouni on foot, 
and took up his abode in a cottage in the village, 
which exists to this day, and is perhaps the oldest 
house of the valley. Owing to the rugged foot- 
path and rocks over which it appears he was ob- 
liged to pass, his hands and feet were bleeding and 
in a lacerated state. These difficulties probably 



3i 

presented themselves after passing the Pont Pel is- 
sier, where the path formerly followed the depth 
of the dark and gloomy ravine where the Arve is 
seen foaming to extricate itself from its rocky 
prison • for the road did not then, as it does now, 
pass over u les montees, " in order to arrive by a 
more gradual ascent to the immediate valley of 
Chamouni, near the village of les Ouches. 

St. Francois remained many days visiting the 
Priory, the poor, and the sick. He officiated in 
the parish church, gave his benediction to every 
class, and distributed alms where they were most 
required. On his departure from Chamouni, he 
was accompanied by a crowd of persons, all eager 
to testify the high respect and admiration they 
entertained of his eminent qualities : at the mo- 
ment of his separation from them, he delivered a 
short sermon on the highway, took his leave, and 
pursued his journey towards Sallenche. 

St. Francois, in his first communication to the 
Prior of Chamouni, makes mention, as we have 
read, of a probable sect of heretics being estab- 
lished in the country. 

A learned writer on this subject defines true 
heretics to be those who have separated them- 
selves the most from the primitive Church. 

We must recollect, that at the period of St. 
Francois' visit to Chamouni, the Reformation was 
going on in full vigour, notwithstanding the great 
promoters of it, namely, Luther, Zwinglius, and 
Calvin, were all dead. The latter had been pro- 



32 



fessor of Divinity at Geneva, the very town of 
which St. Francois was now bishop ; and he pro- 
bably felt it possible that the new doctrines of 
these indefatigable divines had spread themselves 
among this remote part of his catholic flock. 
About this period also, Arminius, the great de- 
fender of the doctrine of predestination, died, but 
had pursued and finished his studies also at Ge- 
neva; and no doubt can be entertained but that 
St. Francois, jealous as he was through life for the 
maintenance of his own doctrines, feared that 
some part of his diocese might embrace a contrary 
or an opposite opinion, and it is to be supposed 
that it was to that class that he applied the term 
heretic. If St. Francois turned his mind at all to 
that part of politics that relates to the firm estab- 
lishment or to the overthrow of a received reli- 
gion, he learned no doubt with secret regret the 
overthrow of the Spanish Armada in i588, and 
read with infinite sorrow the edict of Nantz passed 
by Henry the Fourth, in i5g8, in favour of the 
Protestants, of whom he was at that time the 
sovereign head. 

The period of St. Francois' arrival at Chamouni 
is so highly interesting as regards the Church his- 
tory, that I have been led into a digression, from 
which I now withdraw, and shall proceed to other 
extracts from the archives. 

Jean Francois de Sales, Bishop of Geneva^ and 
brother of him of whom we have just given a brief 
account, visited Chamouni in 1626. 



33 



Under the date r634, there is an ordonnance 
issued by the senate of Savoy, the sovereign in 
council, to admit horned, cattle and other mer- 
chandise, free of duty, into the valley. It is to be 
presumed that the free admission of horned cattle 
at this period could only be for the purpose of 
grazing on those mountains which, by the industry 
of (he peasants, had been cleared of their forests, 
and that probably they were re-conducted into 
the lower part of Savoy, as the summer advanced, 
when food and herbage became scarce. 

In 1649, Charles Auguste de Salles visited the 
Priory. This bishop issued an order during his 
stay, that the abbots of Sallenche and of Cluse 
should at all times receive, without fee or reward, 
the prior and the benedictines of Chamouni, in 
their passage to and from Geneva; so that in all 
probability communication was now become fre- 
quent with this part of the country and the metro- 
politan city. 

In the year following this sixth visit of the 
bishops of Geneva, namely in i65o, an order was 
given by the prior to levy an annual tax of two 
sous on the inhabitants of the valley for the repair 
of the roads. 

Nothing of any particular public interest oc- 
curred from this period until the arrival of Mr. 
Pocock and Mr. Wyndham, the details of which 
are to be found in the (C Mercure Suisse" for the 
months of May and June 1743, to which I refer 
mv readers for additional particulars. From 

3 



m 

what I was enabled to collect at Chamouni from 
some of the older guides whose fathers were pre- 
sent at this first visit of curious travellers, and who 
no doubt had often during the long winter even- 
ings recited to their families this great event, it 
did not appear that their reception was of the cha- 
racter given to it by Dr. Ebel. They were kindly 
received, as I understood, by the curate of the 
parish, and by him hospitably entertained. What 
seemed most to surprise the peasants was, that 
strangers should come from so far off, though they 
probably did not know from whence, merely to 
look at the mountains and the glaciers, in which 
the natives themselves neither saw or could under- 
stand that any beauty or peculiarity existed, sup- 
posing no doubt that the whole world was formed 
after the manner and fashion of their own. 

It may perhaps be thought unnecessary to give 
here an article from the Mercure Suisse, written 
about the same period of 1743, but I do so in 
order to throw much light upon the improving 
state of the inhabitants of the valley, occasioned 
not only by their agricultural labour and unceasing 
attention to render themselves independant of 
their neighbours, but also by a general intercourse 
and emigration to other states. — It runs thus : 
£C Le dernier eveque d'Anneci, Michel Gabriel de 
iC Roussillon de Bernex, peu d'annees avant sa 
iC mort, fit la visitede celte paroisse. II futsurpris 

d'y trouver l'eglise tres-bien batie, et dans le 
" bon gout, les vases et les ornemens sacres fort 



35 



u riches, et au lieu des miserables chaumieres 
" qu'il s'attendait de voir dans un lieu si disgracie, 
u il y trouva di verses maisons de particuliers, non 
" seulement tres-commodes , mais me me regu- 
u lieres et dans le gout moderne. On lui expliqua 
" la chose de cette maniere: C'est que divers habi- 
cc tans de ce lieu en sortaient encore jeunes , et 
u allaient chercher fortune; qu'ils commencaient 
" par quelque petit commerce en Allemagne ou 
u en Italie ; que lorsqu'a force de soins et de tra- 
u vail, ils avaient gagne du bien, ils n'etaient 
u contens de leur sort, a moins qu'ils ne revinssent 
" jonir de leur fortune dans leur pays natal." 

We have no means of judging to what extent 
the architectural knowledge of this good bishop 
went; but if things were actually at that period as 
stated to him or by him, and that he found in the 
village houses not only commodiously arranged but 
built in the then modern taste, all we can say is, 
that he was probably a better judge of an episcopal 
palace built by Palladio, than of a Savoyard moun- 
tain cottage; for, even in the present day, those 
houses which have been erected since the great in- 
flux of strangers do not exhibit much modern im- 
provement or taste, and are only a refined model 
of the ancient style, rustic though neat withal. — 
That emigration to Germany and to Italy was 
then in fashion is not difficult to imagine, although 
the wanderers in search of commerce and fortune 
must have commenced their peregrinations near a 
century before the visit of the bishop, or they 

3.. 



m 

would not have had time to return home with 
their honest earnings, and so embellish their 
native village as to attract his particular attention. 

That which is to be admired in the above extract 
from the Mercure Suisse, is the fact of the return 
of these peasants to their native valley. Their 
hearts, although actively engaged in various pur- 
suits in foreign countries, seem to have clung to 
their lofty and snowy mountains ; such is the 
force of affection that nature has planted in our 
bosoms. We have all, more or less, a certain de- 
gree of love and attachment for the place of our 
birth • and to whatever spot on earth fortune di- 
rects our footsteps, ungrateful indeed would that 
heart be which could forget its native land. So 
strong is this natural feelings that it is to be seen 
m those who are born in more rigid climes than 
that of Chamouni ; in those who have been se- 
duced by artifice and cunning to leave the soil on 
which they first drew their breath, who may have 
been treated by their seducers with apparent kind- 
ness, with the hope of reaping pecuniary benefit by 
the exhibition of these ignorant creatures, but 
who, at the risk of their lives, when the time of 
bondage was over, have returned helpless and for- 
lorn to the place of their birth, to experience a se- 
cond time all that nakedness, cold, and poverty, 
their sole inheritance, could offer as a welcome to 
their native land. The examples of this are but 
too numerous ; but let us confine ourselves, in sup- 
port of the fact alluded to, to the history of the 



37 

two Albinos, natives of the valley of which we are 
treating, and who were some years since exhibited 
in London. They were born of indigent parents 
in the village <c des Bois, " situated near the source 
of the Arveiron, three quarters of an hour's walk 
from Chamouni. They were conducted from 
thence when quite young, by a man still living in 
the village, to whom I have often spoken on the 
subject : they accomplished their journey as far as 
Paris on foot, and on their arrival there, were de- 
livered into the care of another person. After an 
absence of some years, their hearts dictated a re- 
turn home, a distance of nearly seven hundred 
miles, which they performed with scarcely sufficien t 
money in their pockets to. defray the expenses of so 
long a journey. Soon after their arrival they 
married, but their children had not, in either case, 
the same peculiarity of eye, nor was the hair or the 
complexion particularly white. The white cat 
mentioned by M. de Saussure had in all probabi- 
lity not outlived their return. — The offspring of the 
Albinos are all dead, but the house where tliey 
were born exists to this day . 

In 1775 an order was sent by the council of 
Chambery to alter and to amend the passage over 
" les Montees, " which had hitherto only been a 
path for mules, that it might be made practicable 
for chars, a species of vehicle not known at this 
period in the valley of Chamouni. By the accounts 
kept in the office of the syndic, I learnt that the 
works were begun the same year, but owing to the 



38 

difficulty of overcoming that steep ascent, added 
to the lime necessary to cut through and blow up 
the large masses of rock that obstructed the new 
line of road, the opening for chars did not take 
place until 1778, since which period the number of 
visitors has considerably increased, owing in a 
great measure to the entertaining and romantic 
volumes of M. Bourrit, published a few years be- 
fore, giving a full account of the most remarkable 
objects of curiosity in this country. Of late years 
it has not been an uncommon occurrence to see at 
Chamouni more than three thousand strangers 
from every clime and country, eager to behold the 
most majestic and the most extraordinary com- 
binations of nature, such as are scarcely within 
the power of the imagination to picture or devise. 

Having thus attempted to arrange and put into 
chronological order such extracts from the original 
deeds and documents, which I may say accident 
had thrown in my way, as I have thought neces- 
sary to prove that the valley of Chamouni was 
known, and had communication with the neigh- 
bouring towns, during six hundred and fifty years 
previous to the visit of Mr. Pocock and Mr. Wynd- 
bam in i^^i, I have little of interest to add on the 
present state of the country beyond that which is 
so well known to every English traveller. 

It would however be a subject of great regret to 
me, if, by the publication of the present pamphlet, 
the former writers on this subject should feel that 
the general information which they offer to their 



39 

readers is cancelled or set aside. I have carefully 
avoided every subject of which they treat, except 
the universal error into which they had all been 
led respecting the discovery of the valley. This I 
considered almost a duty to set forth in its true 
light; and although many other trifling mistakes 
have crept into their works, such as distances, 
heights, etc., it is not my intention in the present 
instance to touch upon them. 

Many travellers, with whom I had the pleasure 
of conversing last summer on the object I had in 
view, urged strongly the propriety of such a recti- 
fication of the itineraries as I proposed ; and the 
opinion of many persons was, that it could be re- 
ceived in no other light than as a desire to com- 
municate fresh information on a point which had 
hitherto been enveloped in great obscurity, and 
seemed almost incompatible with common sense, 
and certainly not in the least satisfactory to the 
most transitory reflexion. It is therefore far from 
my wish to wage war with the elegant writers who 
have preceded me, or who have treated of the 
valley and its environs, during the last century. 

CHARACTER 

OF THE INHABITANTS OF CHAMOUNI. 

The number of inhabitants, properly speaking, 
belonging to the parish of Chamouni does not 
exceed eighteen hundred souls. 



4o 

Before tbe valley was separated into tliree parishes, 
this amount was at least double ; but the village of 
Les Ouches and that of Argentiere, being both po- 
pulous and having each their separate church, are 
not reckoned in the above estimate. With very 
few exceptions, the peasants are all owners of 
land, tbe produce of which is carefully housed for 
themselves and their cattle, to be used during the 
seven or eight long and dreary months of winter. 
They are frugal, industrious, moral, and contented : 
happy and affectionate in their domestic relations, 
and obedient to the laws ; while those who are 
daily labourers are strongly attached to their em- 
ployers, not from restraint, but from good-will. I 
must, for an instant, combat the general axiom 
that u Poverty is the parent of crime." I do so 
in favour of this honest people ; for though they 
are what may be termed poor, with the exception 
of a very few, crime is really unknown among 
them. It is not only from the opportunities I 
had, during many months' residence at Chamouni, 
of observing and knowing their habits, but I drew 
my information from the general police report 
kept at Sallenche, where, on the black list, there 
is not, nor has been for a long series of years, the 
name of a single inhabitant of the valley enre- 
gistered as a suspicious or an accused person. 
Smuggling, although not carried on to any great 
extent, cannot well be termed an immoral act : 
indeed this mode of gaining a small pittance is 
now almost entirely abolished, although formerly 



1 



the peasants carried this system to great lengths, 
as the knowledge they possessed gave them a great 
advantage over the dangerous and difficult passes, 
where only the chamois fly before their pursuers; 
and so fled in safety the smugglers before the more 
timid defenders of the custom-house stations. — The 
women of the valley are extremely laborious, and 
not outwardly but sincerely attached to their reli- 
gion. They show great respect and are civil to 
every stranger that arrives at Chamouni. Dancing 
is an innocent amusement unknown in the valley; 
it is not, however, unusual in the winter evenings 
to see a dozen women of all ages seated round one 
lamp suspended from the ceiling, busily employed 
in spinning and knitting stockings for their hus- 
bands, fathers, and sweethearts. There is an eco- 
nomy in this rational mode of friendly intercourse 
that is highly commendable and worthy of imi- 
tation in other villages where a less feeling of har- 
mony is to be found. 

The practice of emigrating is not now in fashion 
as it was in the time of bishop Roussillon de Ber- 
nex, and the reason is very simple : there is quite 
sufficient employ at Chamouni for the men, in the 
care of the mules in the service of the summer 
tourists, for those who act as guides and as por- 
teurs, and others who keep the cabinets d'histoire 
naturelle, without mentioning many other occu- 
pations which are the natural result of so great an 
influx of strangers during four or five months in 
the season. 



LES SOEURS DE LA CHARITE. 

It is a circumstance worthy of remark, that, in a 
valley so remote and so far distant from all favour- 
able opportunities of education, there is scarcely a 
man, woman, or child that does not know how to 
read and to write. This fact may not be found 
by some persons to be sound policy, inasmuch, 
they will say, that it tends to approximate the 
lower classes to the higher. This we will admit 
to be so, as far as acquirements go ; but as long as 
the hearts of these good peasants remain firmly at- 
tached to their native mountains and valley, and a 
repugnance to change their style of dress shall 
exist among them, we need not fear that the attain- 
ments of the child will lead the ambition of the 
parent to commit such follies as but too strongly 
mark the conduct of those who move in a more 
dangerous and fashionable sphere. The advan- 
tage to these children of being able to read and 
write, for an advantage we must consider it as 
long as it is kept within due bounds, is owing to 
the indefatigable exertions of two sisters, sceurs de 
la charite, who reside in the village. They apply 
themselves daily to the education of the children, 
and inctil into their young minds such excellent 
and sound principles as render them, what they 
really are, worthy little members of this rural com- 
munity . — That however which is most sincerely to 
be regretted, is the fact that the funds of these 



43 

sisters are so extremely limited, that at times their 
means are by no means adequate to their wants 
and to their wishes to do good : they are indeed 
often prevented the possibility of extending their 
charity where it is most required. — They are ready 
at all hours of the day and night to attend the 
sick chamber of the poor ; they perform the most 
menial offices in the hope of restoring a father, 
mother, or child to the aching bosom of a despond- 
ing family. In order to give greater effect to their 
praiseworthy exertions, and aid their benevolent 
actions, I may perhaps be permitted to hint, as a 
concluding observation on this useful and almost 
unprotected institution, how desirable it would be 
if some of the wealthy visitors to Chamouni would 
deposit in the hands of the cure or of the syndic of 
the village, both men exemplary in their different 
stations of life, some small donation for these two 
sisters. It is within the knowledge of many tra- 
vellers, whom illness or trifling accidents have 
prevented from immediately continuing their jour- 
ney, that these sisters have administered all that 
was in their power and slender means to offer, 
there being no other medical aid at hand. Surely 
the act of charity here proposed would not di- 
minish the high degree of estimation with which 
our countrymen are held throughout the valley 
of Chamouni • nor would the rich traveller, under 
such a tie of affection, quit the country with a heart 
less glowing in admiration of all the beauties and 



44 

-wondrous works of nature with which it abounds, 
remembering that 

" Charity, decent, modest, easy, kind, 

" Softens the high, and rears the abject, mind." 

THE GUIDES OF CHAMOUNI. 

One or two words respecting this particular 
class of persons will close the miscellaneous obser- 
vations I have added to the brief historical sketch 
of the country, which might have been consider- 
ably lengthened, had it been necessary or essential 
to the object in view. 

It is well known that prior to the year 1821, 
when the new regulation took place^, the guides of 
Chamouni, and those peasants who represented 
themselves to be such, for the trade was open to 
all, frequently passed several days on the road and 
loitered about in the villages as far distant as eight 
or ten leagues, in the hope of engaging themselves 
with travellers, who then had no means of know- 
ing the merit of those by whom tuey were accosted, 
and who were but too often deceived, or led into 
danger by the ignorance of the pretended guides. 

Those however who had already earned a good 
reputation, and whose certificates were a recom- 
mendation to the stranger, generally got the most 
practice and employment. These were men who, 
not content with the good character they already 



bore, sought at all convenient times to instruct 
themselves as to general information relating to tlie 
ground over which they were likely to travel. 
They gathered instruction from books on botany 
and mineralogy, and obtained even a slight know- 
ledge of geology. Complaints were however made 
generally of the unskilfulness of the guides, owing 
chiefly, indeed I may say wholly, to the ignorance 
of those who occasionally engaged themselves in 
the arduous and difficult task of conductors. The 
Sardinian government, in consequence, took the 
whole affair into its own hands, and gave orders to 
the inspector of the province to place the guides on 
a better and more safe footing for the public ser- 
vice. A committee of four of the oldest and most 
experienced guides was formed, who were to 
choose forty of the most intelligent men from the 
valley, who had long practised the office, and who 
could show good and satisfactory certificates of 
their general good conduct and ability. These 
forty men were enrolled as guides, and no other 
•peasant could act as such without being liable to a 
heavy fine. The chief guide receives a salary from 
the government, and it is his duty to take care 
that each guide goes in his turn, and that he is 
ready at his post at the hour stipulated by the 
tourist. Such is the general outline of the esta- 
blishment of the guides at Chamouni ; but what 
will be the consequence at some future day of this 
new regulation? The guides do not now, as 
formerly, seek to instruct themselves : before 1821, 



4« 

a man was chosen for his ability, his courage, his 
prudence, and his general knowledge : now a 
guide knows that, being placed on the list, his 
turn must come to attend a stranger, and that no 
one can deprive him of the benefit of his trade, 
and therefore he sits quietly down by the side of 
his fire, waiting only the call of the chief guide, 
and abandons all books of instruction. Therefore 
it is to be feared that when the original race of 
guides has passed, and that there appears no longer 
on the list the names of Coutet, Payot, Paccard, 
and Balmat, we shall see at Chamouni a compa- 
ratively ignorant class of guides, capable no doubt 
of conducting strangers in all ordinary cases, but 
not possessing that agreeable information and use- 
ful knowledge which render a walk over the most 
dreary mountain still more engaging, and which 
often draws from the pocket of the pedestrian an 
extra franc as an acknowledgment for the addi- 
tional pleasure he has received in the conversation 
of his guide. 

Many travellers think the rate of pay to these- 
hardy and brave fellows much too high. The 
government originally fixed the price of each course 
at seven francs, but the guides voluntarily reduced 
it to six, and it appears certainly more prudent to 
pay this sum to a man who lias been strictly exa- 
mined as to his knowledge of the country, and 
who cannot be enrolled unless he bears an excellent 
character, than to hire an ignorant peasant at a 
less consideration, who, in all probability, might 



47 

lead the economical tourist into difficulties, and 
when once surrounded by danger, would not 
know how to extricate either himself or his em- 
ployer. 

Dr. Ebel, who was so long our guide for every 
thing relating to Switzerland and for those places 
generally visited by the summer traveller, has in- 
serted in his "Manuel du Voyageur" a paragraph 
relative to Mr. Pocock and Mr. Wyndham, which 
cannot fail, I think, to astonish the attentive 
reader, after having perused the documents I have 
given in the preceding pages ; it runs thus : 
u Comme tout le monde croyait que cette vallee 
" etait un repaire de brigands et de peuples bar- 
cc bares et sauvages, on blamait generalement leur 
" resolution ; on leur conseilla si serieusement de 
Ci bien se tenir sur leurs gardes, qu'ils partirent de 
" Geneve armes jusqu'aux dents avec un nombre 
6C de domestiques egalement armes : ils n'oserent 
(C entrer dans aucune maison, ils camperent sous 
u des tentes, et tinrent des feux et des sentinelles 
u en garde pendant toute la nuit. Les montagnes 
ic des environs etaient alors connues sous le nom de 
" Montagnes maudites." 

It appears somewhat extraordinary, in reading 
this passage, that so much precaution was neces- 
sary in the eighteenth century, while bishops, 
merchants, and other persons, in the more bar- 
barous ages of the lifteenth century, could quit 
Geneva, and quietly proceed on their various avo- 
cations towards t his haunt of banditti, without the 



48 

necessity of being armed u jlisqii aux dents" as 
we are told the two first English visitors were. 

Philippe of Savoy, as we have seen in the preced- 
ing pages, gave strict orders in i53o, that all per- 
sons attending the fairs at Chamouni should pass 
free and unmolested, nor could they at that period 
be arrested for debt : this is a clear proof that the 
laws were in existence and probably in full force, 
or why issue a royal ordonnance to suspend them 
for a time in order to improve the communication 
with distant towns? 

We do not learn that any of the bishops, the 
first of whom came as early to Chamouni as 1 44^> 
just about three hundred years before this bar- 
barous and savage people were discovered, accord- 
ing to Dr. Ebel, that they were attended by armed 
men, or whose departure from Geneva was either 
blamed or looked upon as a rash and dangerous 
enterprise. 

We must therefore expunge from the guide- 
books the absurdity which must appear evident to 
every reflecting reader, and which induced me to 
draw up this short and imperfect historical sketch, 
wherein I own much information is wanting, but 
this is owing to the absence of such authentic pa- 
pers as I could have wished to find, and on which 
I could implicitly rely. 



FINIS, 



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